Q&Arc: Community Manager Andy (StrumSlinger)

As Arc continues to grow and be a place for gamers all around the world to convene, we’ve decided to shine a spotlight on the very individuals who work on the games that you all enjoy.

Each week, we’ll interview a different in-house or partner employee to give insight on the behind-the-scenes action. We’re all gamers ourselves and would love to share our experiences making games for you, the one and only Arc community.

Let’s start the inaugural Q&Arc by having me, Andy, CM for Arc, answer my own questions!

Andy: How about we start by explaining who you are and what you do?

Andy: I’m the Community Manager for the Arc Platform and the associated channeled games that come with it. I like medium walks on the beach, staring off into the distance like I’m contemplating something and, of course, video games. I’m the guy on the other side of the official Arc Twitter, Facebook, Vine and Forums. I also host ArCasts, which is my fancy way of saying a Twitch stream.

Andy: What kind of games do you like playing the most?

Andy: Fighting games all the way! Once upon a time, I was a huge button masher, which is still really fun, but then I had an epiphany as I was staring off into the distance and I found myself learning all the intricacies that fighting games have to offer. Other than that, I’m huge on any open-world fantasy RPGs of which I can spend hundreds of hours on.

Andy: Do you play any games on Arc?

Andy: Of course! It’s practically my job to do so. I hop in game every Tuesday as part of the ArCommunity Hour to play games with the Arc Community. As some of the other PWE games have specific CMs for them, I usually play the channeled games like Torchlight II, Stronghold Kingdoms, APB: Reloaded and our newest release, Elsword. Feel free to add me on Arc under the name StrumSlinger. I use that in-game name for pretty much all our games so I’m easy to find.

Andy: What’s your guilty pleasure?

Andy: Reality competition TV. Seriously, I watch a lot of it and rush home just so I can catch the latest episodes. I know there’s a stigma of reality TV being bad, but I watch the competition ones because I respect the talent and skill it takes to win one. I even auditioned for two of them (I won’t say which ones!)

Andy: What’s your favorite thing on your desk at work?

Andy: If you looked at my desk, you’d immediately know what I’m a fan boy of: Spider-Man. I have about eight different Spider-Man things, but my favorite is probably a plush that hangs over my monitor. I also have a really awesome blue shark on my desk – the Super Bowl was great.

Andy: Finally, if you could be any animal, what would it be?

Andy: I’ve always loved the ocean, but can’t pass up the opportunity to fly so probably some sort of seabird. I’m just going to say a tropicbird because they look really sleek with their elongated tail feathers. Majestic as FArc.